Public Enemies
by dragonsoftheeast
Summary: Wally West moves to Earth-2, eager to help Jesse fight metahumans on her home world. However, he soon finds that this Earth has a much different view of speedsters.
1. Episode 1: Alternates

Jesse had been running on coffee and adrenaline for weeks, and she was quickly running out of both. The Speed Force could only do so much.

After the Flash from Earth-3 had left, her dad was the only person on her team, the only one who knew about her powers. And as much as she loved being a hero, it was exhausting.

And then her dad got captured and she had a whole whole new problem. She was stuck between work, saving the city, and finding her dad. Alone.

With the city wary, even to the point of outright hatred, of speedsters, it was difficult to do her job. She almost expected tomatoes to come flying at her. She was fairly sure the police already had an alert out for her.

So, to come to Earth-1, where speedsters were celebrated, revered even, that was a relief. Being applauded for saving someone was a foreign feeling, possibly addicting.

She could see why Wally liked it so much.

But despite the fact that she was enjoying her halfway celebrity, she had to return home to do her job. Not just as Jesse Quick, but as a scientist at STAR Labs. Develop products that could really help people, when her speed couldn't.

Maybe she could even get people to support her speedster escapades. That would be the day.

"Are you okay?" She looked up to see Wally sitting down next to her.

"Just thinking."

"Yeah, that's new."

She snorted, and looked back at him. "Thanks."

He scooted so that they could face each other. "So… What's up?"

She didn't want to say it, but it was time to face the music.

"I need to go back to Earth-2." She said.

His mouth opened a little bit, and closed, and then opened again. Her stomach dropped. "I- I understand. Totally understand."

"You do?"

"I mean, you need to help your Central City. I mean, you're the only vigilante in your world, you have a lot of responsibility."

"I-I- Yeah." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry."

"You have _nothing_ to be sorry for." He put a hand on her shoulder.

"I really wanted to spend more with you," she said, reaching up to hold his hand. "I wanted-"

"Me too."

She leaned forward to gently kiss him.

"So." Wally said, softly. "Wanna run?"

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Let's do it."

* * *

Wally chowed down onto the burger, practically inhaling it. Beside him, Jesse was doing the same. Barry had a similar appetite, but was being much more polite about it.

"Damn," Iris said, staring in wonder at the rapidly disappearing stack of burgers. "I'm not paying."

Jesse pulled out a red stack of bills.

"Uh- that's not going to cut it."

She looked down at the red paper, as if just now realizing that Earth-1 currency was needed. "Oh yeah."

"Who's this guy?" Iris asked, pulling the square to her. Wally and Barry peered over. At the center was a portrait of a stately Asian man, and there was a numeral five at each corner.

"Oh, that's Hiram Fong," Jesse said, swallowing a mouthful of burger. "He was president for the War of the Americas."

"Whatever that is."

"You know, kettle helmets, Cape Canaveral, _Bottom Line_?"

"What's that last one?"

"Oh!" Wally snapped his fingers. "It's that movie we watched! About that boat on the Rio Grande!"

"Yeah." Jesse looked pleased. "Way better than _Titanic_."

"You watched _Titanic_ together?" Iris asked, eyebrows raised. "You need to work on your game." She and Barry shared a look, unfathomable to anyone outside their relationship.

"It's part of Media Switch," Jesse said. "I got some movies from my world, we watched some of this world's movies."

"It's just fun to see her reaction. Did you know, Luke and Leia get together in their movie?"

"No," Barry gasped, shaking his head.

"They're not siblings!" Jesse exclaimed, swatting at him. "I have no guilt."

"I'm still shaming you." His hand darted out to steal a fry, but she caught his wrist.

"Nope." She plucked the fry from his fingers and ate it.

"Have you thought about staying for a little while longer?" Iris asked her.

Wally steadily avoided her gaze as Jesse muttered her answer awkwardly.

"Oh." Iris looked somewhat disappointed.

Jesse cleared her throat. "Um. I'm the only speedster there, I really need to go back and help."

"Why can't Wally go back with you?" she asked.

Despite himself, his heart leapt.

"Iris," Barry whispered, shaking his head.

"Iris, we're trying to save you," Wally pointed out. "I can't leave."

"You have the opportunity to save so many more people on Earth-2," Iris insisted. "What Earth-2 needs is a good team. And I already have a good team."

Barry looked ready to voice another objection, but Iris sent him another of those unfathomable looks that he understood instantly.

"What about Joe? Do you think he'd be okay with it?"

"Dad will understand," Iris assured him.

"You can stay at STAR Labs with us," Jesse offered. "We've basically been working out of our apartments anyway."

"Are you sure?" He asked, not wanting to impose.

"I could use a little help," She said shyly.

"There you have it," Iris said, leaning back, obviously satisfied.

"Hey, waitwaitwait. Wait." Barry held up a hand. "Wally, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, living on a whole other Earth?"

"Jesse did it for almost a year," Wally replied, confidence building up in him. "I can totally do this. I just gotta go home and pack."

He would make sure to download as many movies as he can.

* * *

Jesse had a peculiar spring in her step when she came back to him.

"What is it?" he asked suspiciously. As happy as he was seeing his daughter happy, he knew she would be somewhat morose about leaving her- and the word made him shudder- boyfriend. So this cheer was somewhat surprising.

"What makes you think that?" She asked all too quickly.

"You're smart, Jesse, and I'm smart. So let's not beat around the bush." He crossed his arms, trying in vain to look like an authority figure.

She laughed, actually laughed at that.

"Wally's coming with us."

For all his intellect, he had to blink a couple times to absorb the information.

"Where?"

"To Earth-2. He's going to help us out, the least you can do is be grateful."

"Yes, yes, I'm so grateful- _not_. We've been doing fine on our own."

But then he remembered the days where she looked like she was about to pass out with exhaustion, but had pushed through. The days she had been doing experiments all day and then been rescuing people all night.

"I'm starting my job at STAR Labs, I need some extra help cleaning up the city. Wally offered."

"Okay, then where's he going to stay?"

At that, Jesse looked a little sheepish.

"Oh, come on," he groaned, realizing very quickly.

"You will still be there," Jesse took care to remind him. "He's not moving in with me, he's moving in with _us_."

"Because that's so much better- _not ._ " He was aware that his arms are in the air gesturing wildly, but couldn't bring himself to care.

"It'll be fine," she assured him. "Wally's a good guy."

* * *

The only time Wally had ever been through a breach was during much more traumatic circumstances, so he didn't exactly have a baseline for the experience.

Jesse, noticing the tension in his shoulders, whispers in his ear. "It's just like going through a tunnel, that's all. Just don't think about it."

"You sure brought a lot of luggage," Harry noted.

"Didn't want to put too much of a burden on you," Wally said, slinging the backpack on and then hefting his beat-up duffel bag.

"At least there's that," Harry said, quite dryly. "Try not to go into shock."

"Call us when you need us," He said to Barry. The other speedster gave a short nod.

"You too."

They clapped each other on the back.

He hugged Iris and Joe, endured a kiss on the cheek from the former, and faced the slowly opening portal.

 _Don't think about it_.

Jesse grabbed her father, and they ran through the portal together.

The first thing Wally West noticed about the place was that it was completely dark.

"Lights," Harry called out, and the contrast stunned him for a second.

There was a computer bank, presumably for Harry, and several whiteboards, but the space was otherwise empty, and smaller than the one at Earth-1.

He was a bit unsure of where to put his stuff, so he carried it around awkwardly.

"Sorry, it's kind of small," Jesse said. "But, um, we kind of live here, so it was just easier this way."

"You live at STAR Labs?" He looked around the She had never mentioned it.

"Yeah." Jesse pointed at a metal door at the far end of the living room. "That goes up directly to Dad's office."

He thought about emerging every morning from Harrison Wells' office, and started to open his mouth.

"There's another door," she said, seeing his discomfort. "Next to the kitchen. That's usually where I run out from. We're at the back of the building."

"Oh, thank God," he breathed, and she didn't bother to hide a smile.

She grabbed his duffel bag and trotted to one of the doors, furthest from the elevator, pushing it open to reveal an empty room with a cot and a bookshelf. After a second, he followed her. He could hear Harry sighing behind him.

"This is your room. I'm at that door." She pointed across the hall, and then at the middle room, obviously the master. "My dad's in there."

"I'm guessing that's off limits?"

She gave him such a disdainful look that he had to laugh.

"At least you get your own bathroom. Get settled." She ordered. "We have a lot of work to do."

In a burst of speed, he unpacked.

"Okay," He said cheerfully. "Now what? You got anywhere to train?"

"Yeah, downstairs. Follow me."

"No time for that," Harry called. "Alert at the First National Bank. Metahuman with the ability to-" he took a second look- "emit beams of colored light. Apparently they're solid though. Sounds interesting."

"Alright, let's go," Wally said, changing into his costume in a flash.

"Wait a sec," Jesse said. "Don't go with me."

"What are you talking about? You brought me here to help you."

"This isn't about you," she said, changing into her suit. "Trust me. I just don't think _they're_ ready for you yet."

"You mean the people? People love me!"

"People here aren't fond of speedsters," she said, stretching her legs. "Just – hold back on this one, okay? I promise, we'll work together on the next one."

She had already sounded apprehensive, but then there was a flash of lightning through her eyes, and then she had taken off. He was dying to go after her, but there had been something in her insistence that made him want to obey.

"Can I use your computer?" He asked Harry suddenly.

"What for?" Harry was almost cradling his computer.

"Just to check the news." He tried to keep his voice casual. "I should keep up with the current events and all that."

"Okay…"

Wally sped over, but his fingers froze over the keyboard, unsure of what to search for. He decided on just typing in "speedster", which brought a reasonable list of results. He scrolled through the options, speed-reading through dozens of articles.

His stomach dropped further with every new article. At first, he had thought it was an isolated opinion from a single author, but the same phrases kept appearing, over and over again.

 _Gone for a week...causing a metahuman uprising...unfamiliar with the responsibility of a city…the potential to be a second Zoom…a power no one should have…false hope…following in the footsteps of Zoom…most likely a copycat fraud…_

He finished the earliest article, titled "New Speedster Appears: The Hope and The Dangers", and leaned back, hands on his head.

Harry looked at him pityingly.

"Is this seriously…" He searched for the words, but could not find them. "This is what they think of us?"

"Jesse's been trying to ignore it," Harry said, returning to the computer. "You should do the same."

"The cops are here!" Jesse called through the comms. "What should I do?"

"What have you done with the meta?"

"I'm running blind, he stunned me for a sec," she answered. "I'm thinking we should regroup."

On the other side, Wally heard someone shouting, sirens.

"What's going on?"

"Cops are coming after me now." The marker for her on the middle screen was going wild as she wove through the streets to avoid the police cars.

She arrived back in the apartment, hair blown back, blinking intensely.

"I need a mirror," she said immediately. "Curved, if we can get one."

"Ask Engineering," Harry said. "Gamma team is working on a high-powered spotlight."

"Excellent." Wally could see her forcing herself to slow down as she goes up the elevator. Every step is measured to seem more normal.

"Is she going to reflect the lights back at him?" He asked.

"Looks like it." Harry typed in a few coordinates. "She can use the mirror to focus the lights into his eyes, blind him."

"Then handcuff him and take him to prison." Wally finished cheerfully. "It's a good plan."

"Not one she's going to get credit for, mind you," Harry said gruffly.

"But everyone will see what she's done."

"They'll get out of the way once they see the criminal coming," Harry said. "Not like on your Earth."

Wally thought about it for a moment. Though he enjoyed the crowds chanting his name, it was probably not smart for them to gather around a criminal, even one they thought was neutralized.

"Even so, someone has to have seen her defeat a meta before."

"You've read the articles," Harry said, in that tone tone never fails to make him feel stupid. "The moment she doesn't defeat one is the moment she's failed the entire city."

Wally frowned, returning to the computer screen. "How are we gonna find this guy?"

"In this case, we're going to have to wait for him to show up again." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "Not a prospect my daughter is looking forward to, I assure you."

"Is it like that all the time?"

"If the ability affects something unique, we can track it. But not so much with the-" he did some jazz hands- "light powers."

"So she's just gonna have to run over carrying a gigantic mirror?"

"That's the idea."

* * *

"I should know this place before I try to save it," Wally said. "Where to first?"

"Big Belly Burger?" She suggested, laughing when he looked at her strangely. "Okay, big guy. Where do you want to go?"

"How would I know?"

"Let's start small. Go around STAR Labs."

"I already know my way around this place." He pointed out.

"People actually work here, Wally," Jesse said, shaking her head. "You do have to know your way around."

"Well, coming from the girl who's lived here all her life," He gave a mocking bow. "Lead the way." He tilted his head, seemingly getting another thought. "What if the alarm goes off?"

Jesse shrugged. "Then I'll just face back down here and pick up this bad boy." She patted the curved mirror lying on the table.

He seemed comforted at the thought. It was nice to have someone with some confidence in her.

"Come on, let's go upstairs." She grabbed his hand, and they went inside the elevator.

"Does anyone go down here?" Wally asked her.

"Dad meets everyone in his office," she answered. "And he's not the kind of guy who hosts sleepovers for his kid."

She could see him trying to imagine the scenario, but he shook his head, trying to clear it from his mind.

As an afterthought, she added. "Oh, and Rick, when I was in high school."

"Rick?"

The elevator _dinged_ as they reached Harrison Wells' office.

"Bottom floor is Computers, second is Physics, top floor is Bio." Jesse rattled off quickly.

"And below that is your house."

"Exactly."

"Doesn't it bother you that you're living underneath something that could blow up at any time?"

She pondered that.

"Not really," she answered finally. "You lived in your house and didn't think about gas leaks all the time, right? It's the same thing for me." She paused, and then gave a wide grin. "I just live under a cooler house."

Wally just rolled his eyes at that.

"Okay, whatever."

"Come on, you know it's true," She said, nudging him.

He opened his mouth to defend himself, but was interrupted by her watch beeping- the meta had appeared again at the bank. Coming to finish off the heist, apparently.

She bit her lip. "I've gotta go. Uh, you can explore if you want. Call me if you get lost."

He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good luck."

"Thanks." She ran off, down the stairs back to the apartment, and then to the bank, holding the large reflective metal over her head.

She supposed that if anyone saw her, she would look ridiculous, but only Wally would have perception that was fast enough to see her looking so stupid.

"Hey!" She shouted at him, "Come and fight me!"

* * *

Though Wally itched to just run all over STAR Labs to case the place, he had a feeling all these smart scientist types wouldn't be all too happy with a speedster messing up their paperwork. He wandered the halls, watching the scientists working. There were so many people that worked here, so many moving parts.

This was how STAR Labs could have been on Earth-1, if the explosion had not happened.

"Hey!" A security guard rushed up to him, crossing his arms and puffing his chest up. "You're not supposed to be here."

"Naw, it's cool," he said, holding up his hands. "I was invited."

"Yeah? And next thing you know, you need to use the bathroom."

"No, seriously," he said, "I was invited by Jesse."

"Jesse who?" The guard asked skeptically. "There are a million Jesses in this place."

"Jesse Wells." It was shameless name-dropping, he knew, but he hoped that would be enough to get him out of this mess.

The guard burst out laughing, a deep, from-the-gut laugh. "Yeah, right. And I've been drinking tea with the Mayor. Get lost, kid."

Knowing that resistance was most likely futile, Wally let the security guard escort him outside. He seemed to have a vested interest in Wally's hands.

The guard seemed keen to kick him out literally, but he was satisfied with just pushing him out the door.

He sighed for the guard's benefit, and the moment the guy turned around, he ran for the side door Jesse had talked about.

Only problem: instead of a keyhole, there was a screen, presumably for a combination. A combination he didn't know. He could try every combination, but that would take too much effort, and without the impetus of a missile launch, he wasn't particularly in the mood. Staring at it, he decided to cut the Gordian knot.

* * *

Jesse braced herself against the blast of red energy, holding up the mirror facing concave so that it would reflect back at the other meta.

"I feel like I should know your name!" She shouted at him, dodging another blast, green this time. He was getting more creative, at least.

"You first!" He replied childishly.

The sound of sirens wailing was fast approaching, and she did not want to be there when the cops arrived.

"You better get out of here," the meta taunted, sing-song. "You don't want the cops to catch you."

Letting out a roar of frustration and abandoning all previous finesse, Jesse charged him, ducking underneath another colored blast. They were moving so _slowly_ , all of them, she could run circles around them.

The convex side of the mirror made contact with the meta's head with a _clang_ , and as he was dazed, she put a set of suppression cuffs on him.

"Sorry." She told him with a smile, "They'll be catching you today."

Before the cops could start chasing after her again, she raced away. But then she remembered, with increasing clarity-

Crap. She'd locked Wally out.

She sped on home, mirror tucked under her arm, finding the plain door she had known was home.

Jesse typed in her code, rushing in- to see Wally, sitting back and watching the news.

"Nice job," he said, nodding his approval. "You're on TV."

"Wally, I'm so sorry! I forgot you didn't have a door code yet and-and- how did you get in here?"

He shrugged, and gave a shit-eating grin. "Phased through the door."

* * *

 **Hey guys! This is kind of my "pilot," and it's cross-posted on AO3 as well. My tumblr is dragonsoftheeast, if you want some updates from there. Don't be afraid to comment.**

 **Here's the preview for the next episode:**

 _Wally saves a train, revealing himself as a speedster for the first time to the city. Central City goes wild at the possibility of another speedster, and Wally makes an attempt to win them over. Meanwhile, Jesse gets a new project from her dad._


	2. Episode 2: Speedsters

Jesse and Wally faced each other, panting and laughing, sweat beading on their skin.

"You wanna go again?"

"Another round sounds pretty good," Wally said, grinning broadly.

"Three laps?"

"Only three?"

"Alright, big shot," Jesse said, eyes narrowing. "Five."

"Only if you can handle it."

She cocked an eyebrow in challenge. "You wanna bet?"

"Let's go then."

She took off, running on the side of the track just to show off.

Wally let out a short chuckle, shook his head, and chased after her.

The head start Jesse had given herself was difficult to overtake, but he let his competitive spirit take hold. He could hear the crackle of lightning behind him, and see the golden light from Jesse's in front of him. Through it all, he could see her, wreathed by bolts of lightning.

"Love the view!" He called out to her.

Jesse looked back at him, and saw exactly what view he was appreciating. She laughed, and turned back, pushing herself harder, faster. Every time he almost closed the gap, she would pull just ahead.

The perception of a speedster was a strange thing. He could see Jesse as if she was running at normal speed, but also at eight hundred miles an hour. It took a little effort to take himself out of his normal perception and see her like a blur- like squinting at a far-away object when you were near-sighted. But sound was not as bad.

The chamber under the apartment had been remodeled into a speed lab. Perhaps not as sophisticated as the one back at Earth-1- after all, they didn't have as much of a budget to blow on renovating a secret facility. Embezzlement would probably not be looked on too kindly, even if it was to support a crime-fighting speedster duo. Did that make the situation better or worse?

Jesse pulled to a stop at their starting point, crossing her arms and grinning smugly. "Guess experience wins today."

"What experience? You were a speedster for a month longer than me!"

"During which time I gathered much valuable experience." Her superior look melted as he kissed her, cupping her face in his hands.

They broke apart, gazing soulfully into each other's eyes.

"I'll beat you next time," he whispered, then leaned in for another quick peck on the lips.

She pushed him lightly, smiling despite herself. "Let's see about that. I still have a month's experience ahead of you."

Her watch beeped, and she looked at the time and groaned.

"I gotta go," she said. "Work."

She changed out of the STAR Labs sweatshirt and into a more sensible outfit. "I look professional, right?" she asked, straightening her blouse.

He gave her a double thumbs-up. She tossed him the sweatshirt.

"Where do you even get these?" He asked, draping it over his arm.

"The STAR Labs clothing line is shameless money-making, Wally West," Jesse said, pulling her hair into a bun. "But buying those would kind of be paying myself money, don't you think?"

He snickered at that. "Go and be smart, Jesse Quick."

She grinned. "Great. Don't get into too much trouble, okay?"

"You know it."

* * *

"Morning," she greeted her dad's lab assistant, Henry Hewitt.

"You're glowing," he remarked.

"I've taken up running," she said, getting behind her desk and beginning the report on her dad's most recent developments. It was mainly the economics side of things, which was not her favorite, but her dad preferred to push this kind of thing on her. After all, one day she would inherit this place. Better start early.

She checked around her furtively, and then began to scroll through the spreadsheet, entering data as fast as she could- which was pretty fast. There were already little scorch marks on the keyboard. Her eyes scanned the numbers, searching for problems.

This took about fifteen minutes, at the end of which she ascertained there to be no visible issues. In about another hour, she would recheck her work, and probably again at the end of the day. Superspeed was amazing.

"Jesse."

She looked up, and saw her dad standing above her desk.

"Da- Doctor Wells," she greeted. "What do you need from me?"

"I would like to propose a project for you to take on."

That was a surprise. It took a second for her to recuperate.

"Okay." She got up, and almost tripped over the trashcan next to her desk.

"Better move that," her dad said dryly.

She brushed herself off, despite the fact there was no dirt on her skirt. "Your office, then?"

"You know the way," he said, sweeping his hand in a mock bow.

She rolled her eyes, but made her way out of the lab and to his office.

Once he had shut the door behind him, she changed into her suit.

"Okay, now that we're here, what is it?" She asked. "Meta? Where? What powers? Is Wally-"

"It's not a speedster problem."

"Wait. So you actually have a project for me?" She knew her dad had confidence in her, but this was monumental. Jesse C. Wells had just left grad school, she had no real experience. And despite her genius intellect, she had never invented anything by herself before. She had only ever helped Cisco and her dad, and those were all prototypes, only meant to serve Barry to solve short term problems. If her dad was assigning her a project, she would have to see it through from start to finish.

"If you'll take it." Before, it had been difficult to discern this particular expression, but she knew it now: pride.

"I mean, yeah! I'll- But, won't it be considered nepotism?"

"Not if you do kick it out of the ballpark," Harry set his hands on her shoulders. "And I know you can do it."

She brightened. "I'll take it then. So…what is this project, exactly?"

"Perhaps you should have asked that _before_ you accepted."

Her face fell. "Is it bad?"

"Nah," He pulled up some statistics onto his vertical screen. "Here's the problem. Are you familiar with the company Vlees Centrale?"

"The meat company? That's where we get our cold cuts, right?" She examined the numbers. "Why are they losing so much money?"

"Their herds are getting mad cow disease, and they can't afford to cull them all."

"It seems more cost effective for them to cull," she said, frowning.

"The epidemic is fairly extensive," he said. "But the device they want you to make can be used for more applications."

"So it's targeting the disease. Prions?"

"Exactly. They'd prefer if you can do it in live subjects, but at the moment, meat will do just as well."

"Alright." She rubbed her hands together. "Let's see what I can do."

* * *

Wally could not believe the architecture of this city. It was like the Central City back home, but different. Just slightly off. The elevated train. The balloons. There was a sepia tone that seemed to overtake everything.

Of course, that was the veneer. Even more than his home, Zoom had wrecked this place. His army of metahumans had slipped away into hiding, but they were more than likely going to pop up again. The grand buildings were showing signs of crumbling.

He and Jesse were going to have to work double-time to fix this place up.

A piercing wail echoed down the street, which was then joined by many others. He looked around wildly, searching for the source.

It was not so difficult. An elevated train was careening down a track, towards a clearly unstable part of the bridge.

He wasn't going to lie. His first thought was- _What would Barry do?_ But his mind came up blank. He didn't have time to come up with a solution Barry's way.

Wally had to trust his gut.

The suit came on, and he ran up to observe.

First step- clearly, cut the engine on this thing. But it was a bullet train, which meant magnets, which meant a source of electricity, which meant he could take it out.

There! He ran over, lightning crackling, urging him to go faster, faster. Pulled the lever, cut the power. At least it wasn't accelerating anymore.

But the train still had enough momentum to keep racing towards the crumbling supports. Only way to counteract that was to create an equal force in the opposite direction.

Okay.

He braced himself. This was probably going to hurt.

He ran to the end of the train, and wincing slightly, grabbed the back of the train, pulled, and ran. Halfway, he considered the possibility of ripping his arms off in the process. But it was too late for that.

Wally's shoulders were screaming, but he kept running, dragging the train behind him.

He felt the train slow behind him, and took a chance look. The train had come to a stop, and people were peering out the windows to see their savior.

He took a bow, and left his signature lightning-bolt scorch mark behind.

Being the Flash felt good.

* * *

By her lunch break, Jesse had read about a dozen reports from Vlees Centrale about their mad cow epidemic, and put another dozen articles about prions on her list.

She would have continued, but she had promised Dakota that she would go to lunch with her. They hadn't really talked since her dad had gone missing.

As much as she liked her dad and Wally, she needed to actually talk to a girl.

She debated whether she could take off without disturbing anyone, but decided against running there. She still needed to maintain her speedster secret.

She walked outside of the STAR Labs building, and then ran outside the apartment building. Then she took the stairs.

She had forgotten how tedious stairs were at normal speed.

"Jesse!" Dakota was not one for hugs, but Jesse embraced her anyway.

"Hey." She walked in and plopped down on her couch. The TV news was going on faintly across from her. "You got any food?"

Dakota rolled her eyes and opened her fridge. "You know, you never used to eat this much."

"Stress," Jesse said, leaning backwards over the couch.

"And college wasn't stressful?" Dakota snorted, putting the leftover pasta in her microwave.

"I have a job now," Jesse retorted. "I have a new project."

"All by yourself? Bravo." Dakota opened another cabinet. "This calls for some celebration." She poured two glasses out of a nice looking bottle. The amber liquid looked inviting.

Jesse reached out for one, but her hand got slapped away.

"What?"

"I am a federal agent," Dakota said primly. "And you are underage."

"Are you serious? I turn twenty-one in two months!"

Dakota took a long pull from one of the glasses. "The law is the law, my friend."

Jesse rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She got another glass and filled it from the tap.

"So, are you doing alright?" Dakota asked tentatively.

"Um, yeah," Jesse said, thinking of captured dads and gorillas and Zoom. "Sometimes."

She ran a hand through her hair.

Actually, I met someone."

" _Really_? Do tell."

"His name's Wally." She blushed. "He's the son of one of my dad's... colleagues." Joe counted as a colleague, right?

"And how did you meet?"

"...At a club." It was better to be vague. And technically accurate.

"Since when does Jesse Wells go to clubs?" Dakota asked in feigned shock.

"Well, I was in hiding," she admitted. "And I was sick of being cooped up." She decided it was best not to mention Team Flash.

"Of course it would take being on the run for you to loosen up."

"I wasn't allowed to drink there, either," Jesse remarked as Dakota picked up the other glass.

"Good for you, law-abiding citizen."

Jesse was tempted to laugh at that. If only she knew what law enforcement thought of her.

"You should take me to meet Wally some time," Dakota said casually.

The newscaster noise had suddenly become more urgent, the speaker talking in a rushed, breaking-news type voice. S _peedster stops train on the Gold Line, more news to come-_

"Sure." She said distractedly. She faked checking her watch. "Listen, I gotta go, work…"

"Oh, right!" She scrambled to her feet. "I'm sorry, I'm making you late-"

"It's okay, I'll just work later tonight." She lurched out the door. "Listen, I'll see you later, alright? Text me?"

"Yeah, sure!" Dakota said, shooing her out. "Go!"

As soon as the door was shut, Jesse was sprinting to STAR Labs.

* * *

Wally was watching the news report again.

"I didn't realize you were so interested in current events," Harry said, sitting down next to him.

"They're running a segment on him," Jesse said. She and Wally were snacking on chips, but he didn't seem to have much of an appetite.

"On us, technically," Wally corrected.

"Maybe seeing another speedster around will improve their opinion of us," Jesse tried hopefully.

"Probably not," Harry cut in. Wally didn't need false hope.

His daughter glared at him.

"What?"

"I just saved a train full of people," Wally said confidently. "They can't get mad at me for that."

Harry shared a look with his daughter while West was preoccupied with the countdown in the corner of the screen. For once, he kept his mouth shut.

Wally's foot was tapping incessantly throughout the commercial break. He almost wanted to snap back at him, but he found restraint, if only out of pity for the total onslaught Kid Flash was about to be on the receiving end of.

"This special segment-" loud fanfare- "is brought to you by the National News Broadcasting Company."

Wally practically jumped to the edge of his seat as the screen split to show five different hosts.

"Alright, this is breaking news. A new speedster has been spotted-"

"How do we even know this is a new speedster?"

"The figure is clearly male, while all other images of the speedster have been female. Besides, this one has a yellow suit, and the other one is in red."

"So, the question is: they working together?"

"Probably. But then again, the Flash turned out to be the same person as Zoom, so who knows?"

"Oh, are we just going to take Harrison Wells' word-"

Of course they were going to bring that up.

"Harrison Wells has no reason to lie-"

"We don't even know if Zoom is dead, and two new speedsters show up, you don't think that's not suspicious at all?"

"If Harrison Wells is telling the truth-" the newscaster sent a glare at his opponent as he said this- "Which he most likely is- then Zoom was pretending to be our savior while killing people at the same time."

"Now, that situation cannot be compared to our situation now," the Chinese newscaster said, holding up a finger. "These new speedsters have not killed anyone."

Jesse and Wally nodded emphatically, while Harrison just waited for the other shoe to drop. The newscaster was clearly setting up a straw argument for the others to shoot down.

"How would we even know if a speedster had murdered anyone? Zoom only got seen because he wanted us to see it.

"They're not killing anyone because they don't have to." The other newscaster, a blond man with a strong jawline, was shaking his head emphatically. "Look at this."

Even Harry let out a groan when they pulled up a photo of the lightning bolt scorch mark Wally had left behind.

"This is clearly a threat. These speedsters are only letting people live to let us know that we are at their mercy. And we are. They are able to do terrible things to us before we can even think about defending ourselves."

"Quick has only done fairly benevolent things, and this new speedster has just saved a train. How-"

"Oh," The newscaster propped his chin on his hand confrontationally. "So are you just saying we should just rely on their goodwill? Our city is in shambles because of a speedster, could you imagine what two will do? We have _barely_ recovered-"

"In part due to the contributions of STAR Labs and Quick-"

"You cannot just lump the two together-"

"Think again," Jesse muttered.

"Speedsters are a threat that we have no idea how to face. If they turn against us, we have nothing to defend ourselves. Zoom taught us that."

Wally got up suddenly, speeding into his room.

Jesse shared a worried look with him before she took off after her boyfriend.

Harry guessed he would have to pretend he couldn't hear them.

* * *

"Hey," Jesse said, sitting down on the bed next to him.

"I guess no more lightning bolts, huh?" He said, trying for a smile.

"That would be a start." She set her hand on top of his. "Um. I'm not very good at this emotional pep talk stuff."

"Runs in the family, I guess."

Jesse let out a bitter laugh. "It's times like this where you really have to think about why we're doing all of this."

"Yeah." He said sullenly.

"I understand that the fame, the adoration, is a big part of this. It's- it gets into your head, I know it. I know it." She paused. "But you have to understand. We're all trying to be noble. We're all trying to rebuild this city. And in a way, they're not wrong."

"How- how can you say that?" Wally asked, shaking his head. "They hate you. They hate us. They don't want us to protect them."

"Of course they want protection. They just don't know we want to give it. So we have to prove it."

"What if they never accept our protection?"

"If we keep fighting for their approval, then we won't be fighting for them," Jesse said. "And I understand if you don't want to do that, because this is my world, not yours. And you can go back to your Earth whenever you like." She hesitated but pushed on. "You should decide. Whether this world is worth it for you."

He nodded solemnly, and she kissed him on the forehead.

"For the record, you did awesome with that train," she said.

The corners of his lips pulled up slightly. "I know."

"And it felt great, didn't it?"

"I don't know. My shoulders are still recovering. Maybe a massage…?"

"Don't be weird, Wally." She laughed, getting up from the bed. "I'll get you a hot pack."

She reached the door, and Wally spoke up again.

"For the record. This world is worth it. You're on it." He tilted his head to the side, as if reconsidering. "And Harry too, I suppose."

"Aw," Harry said, his voice echoing through the thin walls. "I didn't know you cared, West."

Jesse winced. "We need to figure out how to have private conversations in this place."

* * *

 **All right! That's episode 2. Please review if you can, I love any feedback.**

 **Here's the summary for episode 3: Wizardry**

 _When five meta-human attacks come in a quick succession, Harry becomes suspicious that these are being coordinated by someone. Wally wants to focus on rounding up the actual metahumans in order to sway the public opinion to their side, but Jesse wants to get to the source of the problem and find the leader._


	3. Episode 3: Wizardry

"Robbery on the corner of 4th and Yangliu," Harry called, spinning in his chair.

He heard the telltale _whoosh_ of Jesse's speed as she changed course, turning sharply onto 4th Street. Wally, not as practiced with hairpin turns, screeched to a halt before turning around to go back the way he came.

"Let's hope that didn't leave a mark, hmm?" Harry asked, injecting as much irritation as he could into the remark.

"Right. Sorry." Wally said, and Harry could imagine his head bobbing with over-eagerness.  
"Try not to do it again."

Jesse huffed in frustration. "Wally-"

Harrison had been previously unaware that speed-talking was a facet of superspeed. As Jesse unleashed the influx of information to her boyfriend, he leaned back, and sighed heavily. He made a note to himself to install a speech-to-text program into their comms when they came back. Could they at least attempt to keep him in the loop?

His heart raced when he heard Jesse grunt with pain, and then the soft whump of flesh hitting flesh.

"Got it." Wally called back. "She's okay. She'll heal in five minutes max. Just got sliced by a card."

Ignoring the weirdness of the latter statement, Harry gritted his teeth. "Leave him for the police," He said, against his fatherly instincts.

"You got it."

* * *

"It's a good thing it's a weekend," Jesse remarked as two separate pings showed up on-screen.

"You don't think I'd be able to handle two at once?"

"Wouldn't want you to pull a muscle again," She teased.

"I was pulling a train," He pointed out, face drawn in mock indignation.

"Just split up," Harry growled over the intercom. He could tell the man was already having buyer's remorse over the text-to-speech thing. And after only twenty minutes.

"Aw, and I thought you liked me," Wally snarked back, grinning underneath his cowl even as he took a left turn to Jesse's right.

Jesse let out a short bark of laughter, and Wally let himself be smug for a second.

"You know what I meant," Harry growled.

The smirk was quickly wiped off of Wally's face when a wave of sonic energy came flooding towards him.

He grunted as the sheer concussive force sent him flying, the earpiece shattering under the onslaught of shrieking vibrations. He barely made out Jesse calling out his name before he made rough impact headlong into a car door.

"So much for no property damage," he muttered, dazed. He felt a strange stickiness dripping down the side of his face. Curiously, he reached up, and his fingers came back red. Seeing his own blood hit his consciousness so hard that the pain in the side of his face finally registered.

He bit back a scream. The broken pieces of the earpiece were digging into his skin, drawing blood.

 _Head wounds always bleed a lot,_ he comforted himself. He looked up, determined to keep fighting, but the other meta had disappeared. It seemed he would have to make a tactical retreat.

* * *

"Wally!" Jesse exclaimed when her boyfriend returned, cowl removed, blood running down the side of his face. "Your comms went out and-"

"There was just this _wave_ of energy, I couldn't dodge it, the earpiece, I don't know, blew up I guess- ow!" He swatted Jesse's probing hand away, his pain scrunched up in pain.

"Sorry!" She cringed in sympathy. "There are still shards in there, we should get them out."

"It's okay," He said, breathing slightly more heavily. "I can phase them out. Just- just wait a second." He shut his eyes tightly, and his body was vibrating, the shards of metal clattering to the floor. Jesse scooped them up with a quick swipe of her hand.

Wordlessly, her dad handed her a wet cloth, and she began to wipe away the blood seeping from his face.

"It's not a lot of damage, but it'll hurt a lot," she said quietly.

"Get some antiseptic," Harry told her. She raced off, and brought back the hydrogen peroxide they had stowed under the bathroom sink.

"Did you at least get your guy?" Wally asked her when she returned, wielding the antiseptic and some q-tips.

"Yeah. Girl, though. Claws. Teeth." She brought her fingers up to her mouth to simulate, and he let out a short chuckle. The meta had called herself Wildside. Probably a shapeshifter.

Wally hissed as her dad dabbed at his wounds with the peroxide.

"Don't be a baby," he said, giving Wally a patented glare. "You'll be fine in a couple hours. The rest of us aren't so lucky all the time."

"Just because I can heal doesn't mean it doesn't hurt- ow!"

"Stay still." Her dad said pitilessly.

* * *

"This one's on Main Street," Jesse said, getting up from the table. She gave a significant look the side of Wally's face, which was still healing. "Let me handle it."

Wally managed to catch the roast beef before it flew into Harry's face. Considering it for a second, he put it in his sandwich, and took a big bite.

"What is it, Jesse?" Harry asked, concern etched onto his face. He wondered if that would ever fade. Probably not.

"Looks like a meta this time."

"What did she say?" He asked.

"She says it looks like a meta," Wally relayed to him. "What's the situation look like?"

"I don't know," she said, and he could hear the confidence wavering in her voice. "I'll take a look around again."

She took a couple of deep breaths, psyching herself up, and launched herself into the room.

"Whatcha got?" Wally asked, using superspeed so at least her dad couldn't hear. "Need backup?"

"No," She said, syncing up easily with the increased speed of the conversation, "I can handle it. It's just boomerangs."

"You sure you don't want me to help out?"

"I got this."

And then she was fighting. Even from this distance, Wally could feel her connection to the Speed Force push and pull, felt his own start to mimic it.

There was a quick flurry of punches and a crackle of lightning, the swishing of something metal slicing through the air in slow motion. Then the piercing wail of sirens.

"Already?" Wally frowned. "Your police are a lot faster than ours."

"On the bright side, I now know that our police code is 737." Jesse muttered, evoking her father's default tone. "Let's hope they can keep him locked up."

"Is he finished now?"

"He's restrained. I could stay until the police get him."

"You sure they'll be okay with that?"

"They can't catch me," She said, her voice filled with false bravado.

"You need me, just say the word."

"You got it."

He let his perception shift again, returning to see Harry's mouth go through the motions of exhalation.

"Is she alright?"

"Hmm?"

"Is she alright?" Harry repeated impatiently.

"Yeah," he said, blinking once to synchronize himself with the other man's rhythms. "She's got him."

* * *

"There's been an incident at the jail," Her dad said, swiveling around in his chair. "This is shaping up to be one hell of a weekend."

"I think "hell of a weekend" status was already achieved when Jesse's arm was cut by a playing card."

"Just-" Her dad flailed about with his hand. "Just go."

"Will do." They saluted mockingly.

Jesse let some competitiveness sneak into their run to the jail. She pulled just ahead of him the entire way there.

"You don't have to rub it in, you know," Wally grumbled.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Okay," He said, clearly not convinced. "Are they trying to break people out?"

"Well, why else would a criminal attack a jail?" Jesse answered.

"You know I meant who."

"By our estimations, it'll take five minutes for the police to arrive," Harry interrupted. "See if you can beat them."

Wally grinned at the challenge, but Jesse remained slightly more grim-faced.

"Where's the action?" He asked, rubbing his hands together.

The question was swiftly answered, by way of a lightning strike.

Lightning from the perspective of a speedster was something that Jesse could never get tired of watching. It glowed like a neon sign, but infinitely more powerful. The edges were hazy, but it looked solid. Like she could reach out and grab it.

Not that she would. But it was tempting.

Jesse sped out of the way of the collapsing wall, pulling to a stop right in front of the meta.

She couldn't make out many of his features, obscured as they were by the mask that he wore.

"Mark Mardon," Wally said instantly.

"You recognize him? You can't see his face!"

"He's the Weather Wizard on my Earth," Wally told her out of the corner of his mouth.

"You sure he's the same here?"

"Can't know for sure, but it's probably the case. Same build. Same hair."

"Got any tips?"

"He's an arrogant son of a bitch, I know that."

She shrugged. "Good enough for me."

Lightning, her big power play, was not going to work on this guy. And she did want to stop him from hitting things with lightning, so she couldn't be a hypocrite. If possible, she needed to minimize any damage he might do, so the standard bob and weave strategy probably wouldn't do her much good either. No need to get her more trouble than this jerk was worth. She needed to find a way to bind his hands-

Wally was already charging forward, going straight for the punch.

"Wally!" She admonished unthinkingly.

He turned back to look at her, sliding to a stop, only to be punched square across the face by Mardon.

Stunned, Wally reeled back, and Jesse went on the defense, allowing him to recover. Mardon's power wasn't suited to close quarters, and he knew it. He was trying to keep his distance.

Too bad her powers were suited to closing that distance.

She charged forward, zigzagging to keep her opponent confused. She circled around back, and went to tackle him from behind.

Jesse could hear Mardon's breath leaving his body as she knocked the wind out of him. She scrambled to her feet.

"Circle him while I find something to cuff him with!" She shouted at Wally.

He gave her quick nod, and began to run around Mardon, trapping him in a circle of lightning and the blur of Wally's body.

There was not too much difficulty in finding a pair of handcuffs in a prison. She got another pair for his feet for good measure. Wally stepped aside, allowing her to clap the cuffs over Mardon's hands and feet.

Wally and Jesse stared down Mardon, and as an afterthought, ripped off his mask.

"That him?" Jesse asked.

"Definitely his doppelganger," Wally affirmed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mardon asked, more irritated than belligerent.

"Not important," Jesse snapped.

He rolled his eyes.

"How's the clock?" Wally asked.

"Police should come in about thirty seconds." Her dad said, sounding somewhat satisfied. Jesse allowed herself to smirk, but of course Mardon had to ruin it.

"Just finish the mission," He barked, seemingly at nothing. "I'll be fine."

He had a headset. Like them. He had a team. Of course he did.

"Go," Jesse shouted. "There's someone else, they're trying to free the prisoners!"

Wally took off into the prison, and began to comb it in a grid.

"You're not going to join your boyfriend?" Mardon taunted. "And here I was, thinking you were so strong and independent."

"How did you know he's my-" Jesse cursed herself. Confirming a criminal's assumptions about their identities? Rookie mistake.

"It wasn't that difficult to see," he said sardonically.

Her mouth opened, then closed. "I'm not stupid enough to leave you alone by yourself," she said, crossing her arms.

"Oh, you're plenty stupid," he said, and took a sharp inhale.

Something heavy made contact with the back of her skull, and she was out like a light.

* * *

"I'm fine," Jesse insisted, despite the fact that her arm was slung around her his shoulder.

"You were out for a couple minutes," Wally said, "You might have a concussion."

"What happened?"

"Mardon hit you on the back of the head with a big hailstone. And get this- he _flew_ away."

" _No_." She groaned. She cocked her head, bumping it into his shoulder. The clear look of her coming to a realization.

"Why was he wearing a mask?"

"What do you mean?"

"On your Earth, Weather Wizard didn't wear a mask." Jesse pointed out. "Almost all of the meta-human criminals we've fought don't wear masks. That requires more foresight than most of them ever have."

"So what?" Wally asked. "You need to sit down."

"Sorry," She mumbled.

"What for?" He asked incredulously. His girl was a mystery sometimes.

"Got you punched by Mardon," she said, pointing at his rapidly healing bruise.

"You're ridiculous," He muttered.

"I'll heal."

"Yeah, so will I."

"Are you alright?" Harry rushed over, knocking Wally out of the way. He forced her eyes open, flashing a light into both.

Jesse batted away her dad's probing fingers. "What happened to the prisoners?"

"Disappeared." Wally said shortly.

"Teleporter got them out," Harry elaborated.

Jesse leapt on the tangent. "Wearing a mask?"

"I think so."

"So I'm right. These meta attacks aren't random," Jesse insisted.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked impatiently. "Let me get some equipment for some tests."

"They're designed to look that way, but I don't think that's it," she said, frowning. "They're organized. They're working as a team. A coordinated team."

"And Weather Wizard said, 'finish the mission.' Like they're getting orders. So-"

"Who's giving the orders?"

"That is the question."

"Well, how can we find out?" Wally asked, crossing his arms. "The media will ream us out if we capture one for ourselves."

"They'll spin the story however they want to criticize us," Jesse said dismissively. "We need to find the leader first."

"No, we need to do damage control on these people," he argued. "We can sway them to our side while we're protecting them."

"They are never going to like us." Jesse reminded him.

"Our job is to protect the citizens of Central City. We can't do that while we're off hunting some shadowy figurehead."

"We can do both."

"Jesse, you just got knocked out by one of them," Harry pointed out patiently. "Perhaps we need to wait this out for a bit."

Jesse looked ready to argue, but it was difficult to defend against that point. "Then we have to attack the leader, not the mooks."

"We don't even know who to attack."

"Then we better get to investigating." Jesse said, and Harry gave Wally a significant look. _No use fighting._

Wally really wanted to argue the point, but he decided to listen to Harry on this. He did have more experience with arguing with her.

But he wasn't going to let go of this. Though Jesse was his girlfriend, she was also his partner. They had to choose what was best for the people of Central City. And it was about time that the speedsters gain some legitimacy.

He watched Jesse, stubbornly believing that they were destined to be hated, and knew that neither of them deserved that. He could convince the police to see reason, he was sure of it.

The police station of Earth-2 was almost exactly the same, though admittedly with a cooler mural. Which made it much simpler for Wally to run in and leave a note at a pair of desks:

 _Come to the rooftop when your shift ends. I have information that you'll want. Don't show anybody else._

He left his lightning bolt as a signature, and headed to the roof to wait.

* * *

Jesse had watched the tape of the teleporter dozens of times, both in speed time and in normal time. The notebook next to her was filled with notes and calculations. Anything to get her mind off of the situation.

"You're not supposed to do complicated tasks while you have a concussion," her dad pointed out.

"You've run every test you can think of on me." She said testily. "I don't have a concussion."

"I'm sure I could think of more."

Jesse continued to ignore him. Behind her, he let out a sharp sigh. "What have you found, Jesse?"

"I can't find any identifying features on her," Jesse said to her computer screen. "They've covered everything. They're smart."

"You don't use these kind of calculations to find identifying features." He had taken on a parental tone. The chiding one, not one of exasperation or sternness.

"You don't need to ask me what those are for." Jesse replayed the footage from the fourth camera again.

"You're trying to figure out how to fight the teleporter."

"It's nice to know you needed confirmation." She checked back to scan through her calculations again. "We really need to come up with a better name for her."

"That can come later."

Giving into temptation, Jesse turned around as fast as she could, then back to the computer screen. Her dad was checking her calculations over her shoulder. Typical.

"I want to be prepared," Jesse said defensively. "It's better I do these calculations now instead of in a combat scenario."

"I believe you."

She inhaled deeply, trying to relax her shoulders. "I'm sorry. For being a brat. I can run back and get some samples and we can work on figuring out how her powers work. Then maybe we can capture her. And then we can ask her about this network of theirs."

* * *

Perhaps he had been a bit overdramatic about the note. But he had done it, so he couldn't back out of it.

Wally had been waiting a while on the rooftop, hoping for a response. Perhaps he should have asked when their shifts ended. Too late for that.

"Hey speedster, we're risking a lot for this, so it better be good."

He shot to his feet, and raced over to face the two detectives. He made sure to vibrate his face and his vocal cords, the way Barry had done before.

"Hello," he greeted.

"You're not Barry," Detective Iris West accused.

Her partner looked at her in confusion. "I know looks can be deceiving, but your husband is definitely not a speedster."

"I thought your partner was Floyd Lawton." Wally accused.

"Lawton was injured." Detective Patty Spivot was a new officer, and it showed. "I'm her new partner."

"I can work with that."

"Cut the crap, speedster."

"I prefer the Flash."

"Wasn't that the other guy?"

"He's back on my Earth."

"What are you talking about?" Spivot asked, exasperated.

"I'll explain later." Iris told her partner. "You said you had information. What is it?"

"The meta who could control weather- the one who attacked the jail today- his name is Mark Mardon. He's part of a metahuman crime ring."

"You think the meta crimes are related?"

"It makes sense, after Zoom left, there was a power vacuum," Spivot muttered to her partner. "Someone probably swooped in to take control."

"Can you prove his identity?" Iris asked skeptically. It was strange, seeing his sister in the cop getup.

"I was there, I saw his face-"

"An anonymous testimony is not evidence, or basis for an investigation."

"What if it wasn't anonymous?" He asked.

"Then maybe I could take it under consideration."

Perhaps it was just something about Iris West that made speedsters want to unveil themselves. There was almost no hesitation when Wally took off his cowl to face his sister's doppelganger.

"Do you trust me now?" he asked. "Because we need some help."

* * *

 **Phew! Way too long of a break there. I hope you guys aren't too mad at me. Well, anyway, here's the next episode description:**

 **Episode 4: Fuchsia**

 _When the Frankie Kane of this world emerges, Jesse feels she can fight her easily because she's done it before. However, they soon discover that this Earth's Magenta is much better trained than she had previously thought. Harry offers Wally a job while he investigates with Patty and Iris._


End file.
